Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL – Free Report) – Research analysts at Erste Group Bank upped their FY2026 EPS estimates for shares of Apple in a research report issued on Tuesday, May 5th. Erste Group Bank analyst H. Engel now expects that the iPhone maker will post earnings per share of $8.71 for the year, up from their previous estimate of $8.50. The consensus estimate for Apple’s current full-year earnings is $8.73 per share.
Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL – Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.01 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.95 by $0.06. Apple had a net margin of 27.15% and a return on equity of 146.69%. The business had revenue of $111.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $109.46 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.65 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.6% compared to the same quarter last year.
Check Out Our Latest Stock Analysis on AAPL
Apple Price Performance
Shares of NASDAQ AAPL opened at $287.40 on Friday. Apple has a fifty-two week low of $193.46 and a fifty-two week high of $292.13. The stock has a market cap of $4.22 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.75, a PEG ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.07. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $261.85 and its 200 day simple moving average is $266.04.
Apple Increases Dividend
The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 11th will be given a dividend of $0.27 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 11th. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. This is an increase from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. Apple’s payout ratio is 12.58%.
Insider Transactions at Apple
In other news, SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 30,002 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.35, for a total transaction of $7,661,010.70. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 136,810 shares in the company, valued at $34,934,433.50. This trade represents a 17.99% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 64,949 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $254.23, for a total transaction of $16,511,984.27. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 3,280,418 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $833,980,668.14. The trade was a 1.94% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 96,485 shares of company stock worth $24,594,845 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.
Institutional Investors Weigh In On Apple
Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Apple by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,426,283,914 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $387,749,545,000 after purchasing an additional 26,856,752 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its stake in Apple by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 604,056,505 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $164,218,801,000 after buying an additional 6,555,392 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Apple by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 358,032,517 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $97,031,587,000 after buying an additional 1,866,103 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley grew its position in shares of Apple by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 230,483,035 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $62,659,118,000 after purchasing an additional 1,379,651 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Apple during the 4th quarter valued at $52,266,468,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.
Apple News Roundup
Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:
- Positive Sentiment: Strong fundamentals and capital returns — Apple reported a better-than-expected March quarter and the company announced an additional $100 billion share buyback and an upcoming dividend record date, supporting shareholder returns and multiple expansion. A $100 Billion Reason to Buy Apple Stock Here
- Positive Sentiment: Product demand and supply ramp — MacBook Neo demand has outpaced expectations, forcing Apple to double A18 Pro chip production; strong Mac and iPhone sales fuel near-term revenue visibility. Apple’s $599 MacBook Neo could be at risk from rising RAM prices – The Verge
- Positive Sentiment: AI platform strategy gaining traction — Apple plans to let users choose third‑party AI models in iOS 27 and is increasing AI R&D spend (>10% of sales), which investors view as a scalable, ecosystem-friendly route into AI without massive capex. Apple’s Next iOS Turns iPhone Into an AI Marketplace
- Neutral Sentiment: Analyst optimism and fund flows — Baird and Bank of America raised price targets and Fisher Asset Management increased its AAPL stake, signaling continued institutional conviction but also higher expectations baked into the stock. Baird and Bank of America Raise Apple (AAPL) Price Targets
- Neutral Sentiment: Potential supply-policy tailwind — A federal court ruling against broad U.S. tariffs limits near-term policy risk to imported components, which could ease cost volatility for global manufacturers like Apple (impact remains situational). Federal Trade Court Rules Trump’s 10% Global Tariffs Were Unlawful
- Negative Sentiment: Legal and reputational headwinds — Apple agreed to a $250 million settlement over claims it misled customers about Siri/AI availability (U.S. iPhone buyers could receive payouts), introducing a near‑term cash charge and headline risk. Apple to pay $250M to settle lawsuit over Siri’s delayed AI features
- Negative Sentiment: Antitrust and platform disputes — Rave filed lawsuits in five countries over App Store removal and other developers continue challenging App Store rules; regulatory and legal costs remain a multi-jurisdiction risk. Rave Sues Apple in Five Countries Over App Store Removal
- Negative Sentiment: Supply-cost pressure on low-cost lineup — Rising RAM/memory prices and pulled high‑memory Mac configurations signal potential margin pressure or forced price increases on popular low-cost models (e.g., MacBook Neo), which could temper demand elasticity. Apple’s $599 MacBook Neo could be at risk from rising RAM prices – The Verge
- Negative Sentiment: Regulatory friction over encryption — Apple warned a proposed Canadian bill could force it to weaken device encryption, a policy clash that raises compliance and product design uncertainty. Apple warns Canadian bill could force it to weaken device encryption
Apple Company Profile
Apple Inc (NASDAQ: AAPL) is a multinational technology company headquartered in Cupertino, California, founded in 1976 by Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak and Ronald Wayne. The company designs, develops and sells consumer electronics, software and services. Over its history Apple has evolved from personal computers to a broad portfolio that spans mobile devices, wearables, home entertainment and digital services.
Apple’s principal hardware products include the iPhone smartphone, iPad tablet, Mac personal computers, Apple Watch wearable devices and a range of accessories such as AirPods and HomePod.
Further Reading
Receive News & Ratings for Apple Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Apple and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.
